The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to refuse his blue badge application because there is not enough evidence of fault.
The complaint
Mr X says the Council wrongly refused his blue badge application and failed to take proper account of his medical conditions. He says that this is causing him stress, anxiety and frustration and he is finding it difficult to go out. He wants to Council to issue him with a blue badge.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the Mr X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X applied to the Council for a blue badge. The Council considered Mr X’s application and two appeals.
The records suggest the Council took account of all information supplied by Mr X, a face-to-face assessment of Mr X’s circumstances and the government’s current blue badge guidance, not the earlier guidance. The Council gave its reasons for refusing Mr X’s application.
The evidence suggests the Council reached its decision properly. Although Mr X disagrees with the Council’s decision, there is not enough evidence of fault to warrant an investigation. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman is not an appeal body. We can only look at how the Council reached its decision to refuse Mr X’s application. It is not for us to decide whether Mr X should get a blue badge.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault in the way the Council reached its decision.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman